Christmas!

A very Merry Christmas to you all, and may you enjoy

the best Christmas present ever;

 the endless, bountiful, unconditional love of God

through Jesus Christ.

Portsmouth Cathedral Plaque

The finished Portland stone plaque for Portsmouth cathedral, to be installed early 2012

A view of the studio

A collage of myself at work in the studio. Photo's by Helen Smith at Reflectionz Photography.

Jacob Bronowski

I was recently asked to carve the inscription on the Portland stone plinth for the bust of Jacob Bronowski now situated in Jesus College, Cambridge.

This excellent bust was sculpted by Robert Hunt, Honorary Secretary of the Society of Portrait Sculptors and cast in Bronze by Talos Foundry.

My initial rough layout of the inscription and a 'clean' version which was then transferred onto the stone.

With a sheet of carbon paper underneath my drawing, I simply trace the design onto the stone. Often I prefer to draw letters directly onto the stone, in this instance however it was helpful to first set out the inscription on paper so that Robert Hunt could approve the position and layout of the lettering.

Carving the inscription at Talos Foundry, Project Workshops.

My hands at work!

The finished inscription.

And finally...

Here is Henry Gray setting special fixings into the stone, carefully aligning the bronze bust in the Talos Foundry workshop. The bust is wrapped and slung so that it can be carefully lifted and lowered into position by hoist.

Jacob Bronowski, by Robert Hunt, safe and secure shortly before his trip to Jesus College, Cambridge. There the bust was unveiled and received with adulation.

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Boy Sailors Memorial Newsletter

http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view.php?id=3363282&da=y

Follow the above link to view the newsletter outlining the boy sailors memorial stone for Portsmouth cathedral I've been working on. This gives details of the dedication service for 2012 as well as an update on the project.

A new memorial

I've just started carving a new memorial headstone from a lovely piece of Portland stone, shown below the design...

...and the initial carving, roughing out the shape.

Blessed are they that mourn

A close up from an unusual angle of my letter carving in Portland stone, painted bright blue!

'Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted'

Salisbury cathedral cloister monument

Here is one I restored the lettering on about six years ago. This lovely little plaque is situated in the cloisters of Salisbury cathedral, Wiltshire U.K. The marble was cleaned and restored by the conservation dept. of Salisbury Cathedral Works Dept. (est. 1240 AD).

I re-cut the letters where necessary and re-painted the inscription. This style of lower case letters commonly found in the late 18th century are some of my most favourite. At this time we begin to see a time of change from localised vernacular lettering to the beginning of carved inscriptions which are increasingly influenced by printed letter-forms. This change coincides with advances in printing technology and the rise of 'copy books' of art design, widely used in all creative disciplines.

However these lovely letters still retain a degree of looseness and freedom.

Granville Sharp tomb

About three years ago I was involved in the restoration of the inscription of Granville Sharp's tomb in London. He was the father of the abolitionist (anti-slavery) movement and laid to rest in All Saint's churchyard, Fulham, London. U.K.
His memorial was disassembled and carefully rebuilt by Minerva conservation who then called upon me to restore the lettering. I first carefully pencilled over the extant lettering, then using a fine tipped chisel (2mm and 4mm depending on size of letter) and a zinc alloy dummy (letter cutters 'mini-mallet'), re cut the entire inscription, going over what was already there, deepening the cut and sharpening up the outside line of each letter. Finally a coat of paint was given to restore the letters to their original legibility. I used a weatherproof enamel paint, a very dark grey, so as not to look too stark, as black would tend to.

Granville Sharp's Portland stone tomb, repaired and restored before the inscription was re cut

There was a great deal of debate as to whether this would entail 'over-restoring' the tomb, but in this particular instance it was deemed appropriate owing to the important historical significance of Granville Sharp and his contribution to the abolition of the slave trade, and the fact that the tomb is a popular destination for local school outings. Quite simply the pupils needed to be able to read the inscription. I worked in situ for a week, and enjoyed the peace and quite of this gorgeous churchyard in the heart of London. Back breaking work though, working so close to the ground!

The re cut inscription is barely visible, but the painted letters bring the inscription back to its full glory

The completed inscription